Mousasi-Sokoudjou Joins Strikeforce CBS Show

Gegard
Mousasi and Rameau
Thierry Sokoudjou have agreed to meet in a light heavyweight
non-title bout at Strikeforce “Fedor vs. Rogers” on Nov. 7 at the
Sears Centre Arena in Hoffmann Estates, Ill., Sherdog.com has
confirmed through multiple sources.

If approved by the Illinois Boxing Commission, the three-round bout
will be one of four fights televised live on CBS during the
promotion’s debut on the major broadcast network.

Mousasi earned the Strikeforce light heavyweight title with a
first-round technical knockout over Renato “Babalu”
Sobral at Strikeforce “Carano vs. Cyborg” on Aug. 15 in San
Jose, Calif. The bout was the 24-year-old Armenian-Dutch fighter’s
first at 205 pounds, as well as his debut fight in the U.S.

Mousasi was the Dream middleweight champion before he relinquished
his title to move up a weight division.

Sokoudjou, a 2001 U.S. Open Judo Championships winner, enjoyed a
meteoric rise in Pride Fighting Championships with back-to-back
knockout victories over Antonio
Rogerio Nogueira and Ricardo
Arona. The 25-year-old Cameroon fighter was then picked up by
the UFC and went 1-2 with losses to current light heavyweight
champion Lyoto
Machida and Luis Arthur
Cane.

Both fighters were entrants in Dream’s open weight Super Hulk
tournament in Japan earlier this year. In the quarter-finals,
Mousasi submitted Mark Hunt with
a first-round armbar at Dream 9 in May, before dropping out of the
tournament for unconfirmed reasons. Sokoudjou advanced to the
tournament final after taking out giants Jan Nortje and
Bob
Sapp. Sokoudjou will meet Ikuhisa
Minowa in the final on New Year’s Eve in Japan.